India celebrates historic series win

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Schoolboys in the Indian city of Bhopal salute their team's series win over Pakistan.Photo:Reuters

Congratulations, champagne and cash flowed in India on Friday after Sourav Ganguly and his men in blue snatched a maiden Test series victory on Pakistani soil.

A delighted Indian cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya announced a $1.62 million reward for the players, while national leaders jammed phone lines with good wishes.

"My hearty congratulations to all of you on this historic and fantastic win that you have registered," said Indian president Abdul Kalam - a scientist who was the architect of India's nuclear missiles - in a message to Ganguly.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee took time off from election campaigning to congratulate the Indian team. He also lauded Pakistan's spectators and players who "displayed unique warmth and sportsmanship in all the matches, which made the series truly historic and memorable".

India's first overseas series victory since Sri Lanka in 1993 made Ganguly his country's most successful Test captain, surpassing Mohammed Azharuddin's record of 14 wins. Ganguly's hometown of Calcutta exploded with celebratory firecrackers, with temple bells ringing across the cricket-mad city.

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Man-of-the-series Virender Sehwag's home in the Najafgarh suburb of New Delhi was bursting at the seams with fans and neighbours as the capital prepared to party well through the night.

"The moment the last wicket fell in Rawalpindi we ordered extra stocks of whisky and champagne for tonight because the sales will boom after what has happened," said Sunil Rehani of a New Delhi liquor store.

Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq slammed the attitude of a senior player and blamed the series defeat on his pace bowlers' poor performance. "Fast bowlers were our strength, but they let us down," he said.

Inzamam reacted angrily to reports in local media saying star pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar had called a former captain, Rashid Latif, complaining he was not being handled properly by the skipper.

"There's no bar on a player making a phone call to anyone, but if a player has criticised the team management to an outsider during a Test, he should be disciplined," Inzamam said.

Meanwhile, the West Indies received a boost when fast bowler Jermaine Lawson had his controversial action cleared.

"The bowling review committee of the West Indies Cricket Board has found that fast bowler Jermaine Lawson is now within the legal limits established by the International Cricket Council," the board said a statement.